Apogee To Revive PC Franchises With Handheld Duke Nukem

As part of what it calls an initiative to "re-establish itself as an innovative leader," publisher Apogee (Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3-D) has announced it is working with mobile developer MachineWorks Northwest to bring a new Duke Nukem trilogy to unspecified handheld consoles. Apogee, which was a pioneer in PC 'shareware' gaming, and, it notes, "episodic gaming and online distribution," says it plans to revive "some of its legacy catalogue of 30+ releases as well as publishing all-new properties in collaboration with diverse creators and developers." To start, the publisher says it will be working with 3D Realms and MachineWorks Northwest on Duke Nukem Triology, a handheld title comprised of three episodes titled Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds. MachineWorks Northwest has previously worked on a number of 3D Realms titles, including a previous mobile version of Duke Nukem and Prey, and more recently worked on the mobile version of Guitar Hero. No release date or actual handhelds -- be it Nintendo DS, PSP, or both -- have yet been revealed. Sister company 3D Realms continues to work on its long-awaited next-gen version of the franchise, Duke Nukem Forever. Apogee co-founder and COO Terry Nagy said the game would mark "a new beginning for a famous publisher with a history of market-making innovation," adding, "I can't think of a better character than Duke or a better franchise than the Trilogy to usher in a new era for Apogee." Said co-founder Scott Miller, "It's funny how what's old is new again in this industry. Many of the things Apogee pioneered are back in style, so it only makes sense to bring back Apogee and its properties with a visionary team that will once again create innovation for gamers around the world."